“Mary Margaret Manatee lived in a river that ran to the sea.”
Thus begins a children’s picture book for ages 4 through 10 that I’ve written.
West Indian Manatee at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park
Naturally, I had to go hang out with manatees for research. Where to go? West Indian Manatees like warm water. This time of year wild manatees are out in the Gulf of Mexico because the rivers stay a constant 72 degrees and the Gulf is warmer than that. Come winter cold weather these gentle giants will be back in the rivers that stay relatively warm at 72 degrees.
Places to hang out with West Indian Manatees
If you want to be sure and see West Indian Manatees any time of year one place to go is Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park not far from Crystal River. Four West Indian manatees live here, permanent residents unable to be released into the wild for a variety of reasons. The park offers a number of animal education daily events. There are three manatee education program times: 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Manatees have keen ears. The sound of lettuce hitting the water will bring them to the shoreline where visitors sit on bleachers, listening to a park volunteer spin the manatee’s story.
Manatees eating lettuce at the Fish Bowl
Springs bubble up water rippling in lovely shades of gold from reflected sun. The manatees slowly glide towards the lettuce. They are big, gray aquatic mammals looking like underwater blimps. An adult manatee can easily be ten feet long and weigh 1,200 pounds.
The park volunteer said manatees eat 10 percent of their body weight every day. That is a lot of greens. They are herbivores, always hungry, always looking for sea grasses, water plants, all the good stuff.
Manatees move by undulating their tails and sculling with their flippers. It is surprising to learn they are distantly related to elephants. Both have toe nails – elephants on their hooves, manatees on their flippers.
West Indian Manatees are ancient animals
They are ancient animals, part of a group called sirenians. Perhaps a manatee’s gentle ways has helped them survive for millions of years. Yet now West Indian Manatees are endangered from destruction of their habitats, hunting and a modern invention called boating. Manatees are often scarred and killed by boat propellers.
the clear spring water- on the right is a swimming manatee
Because they are mammals they must surface to breath air, putting them on a collision course with boaters. Plus they are curious and attracted to the sound of propellers. Manatee safe zones and speed limits are only as good as boater’s willingness to co-exist with manatees.
While it is awesome to see manatees gliding through the clear spring water it is even more amazing to descend into the Fish Bowl and watch them from under the water, eating lettuce, moving around each other, just a slight lift of their tail moving them to the next piece of lettuce.
After the park volunteer’s talk, the recommendation is to go to the Fish Bowl, where all the rest of the lettuce is delivered and quickly consumed.
manatees at Homosassa Springs
It is pure magic to spend time with West Indian Manatees. After a first encounter at Homosassa it could be tempting to round everyone up to head for Crystal River and take a snorkeling tour with manatees.
But think about it – the underwater world is their world where they eat, sleep, play and raise families. It is extremely stressful to have it invaded by hordes of swimmers who paid money to get wet and be in a place they don’t belong.
Consider a kayak tour where you can glide by and see manatees without stressing them by swimming alongside. The 21st century is stressful enough for them as it is. Thank you. And Mary Margaret Manatee, a figment of my imagination based on real life, thanks you too.
More About West Indian Manatees
A good place to start learning about manatees is the Fact page on Save the Manatee organization.
Blue Spring State Park near Orange City, a great place to see wild manatees in the winter months.
Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa has the Florida Manatee and Aquatic Center with below sea level viewing. Speaking of lettuce, the manatees at the zoo’s manatee hospital eat nine tons of lettuce in a week. And when was the last time you had your greens?
Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa and Sea World in Orlando are the two designated manatee rehabilitation centers in Florida. Sea World has an Animal Rescue Team on call 365 days a year.
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